Talking Water

Wolfram C. v. Clausbruch: keyboards, percussion, accordeon, Celtic harp, vocals, kalimba, and about every other instrument there is (you name it – he plays it…)

Urs, Ian and Kerstin first met up while touring with the Celtic formation NORLAND WIND, which also features Thomas Loefke and Pádraig and Noel Duggan from the Irish cult band CLANNAD.

The musical interaction worked so well that Urs Fuchs, who had just received the commission for the film music for a documentary about a pilgrimage “Nearer to God”, brought in Kerstin and Ian to work on the soundtrack. For four very intense days they improvised music to the film, and the very special communication which arose during recording confirmed their decision to continue working together.

The reaction to the soundtrack was so overwhelmingly positive, that further new recordings were made and an audio CD “Western Winds on Celtic Shores” was finished at Biber Records.

Shortly after the CD release in February 2000, it had already been chosen as “Audophile CD of the Month” by the two prestigious German hi-fi magazines STEREOPLAY and AUDIO.

Talking Water`s new CD: Power of the Moon was released in 2006 (Westpark Music) and got rave reviews in the international music press.

The music:

The group present an opulent spectrum of sound colours, whereby it is not so much the multifarious possibilities of the synthesizer which dominate, but much more the plethora of acoustic instruments (whistles, drums, bass, guitar, dobro, bouzouki, mandolin), Kerstin ‘s clear and expressive voice and the multilayered, often polyrhythmic harmony vocals which lend TALKING WATER a distinctive sound.

Beside contemplative, Celtic-influenced melodic improvisation and hymn-like instrumentals there are also tasteful modern folk ballads.

TALKING WATER is sometimes minimalistic and hypnotic, sometimes effervescent and surging. It is music for the soul.

„The music owes much to traditional Celtic music, with traditional-sounding melodies and instrumentation, but updated with a very modern sound. The music is densely layered (much like Clannad, of which Melrose is a touring member) and masterfully produced and played. Blodig is the main vocalist and is absolutely superb…”

Dirty Linen (USA)

„Anybody who is fond of acoustic music played with a superb lightness in a top-quality audiophile production will love Talking Water.”

Internationally known as one of the most important interpreters of Scandinavian and Celtic world-music, her musicality shines through, not only as founding member of Touchwood and Norland Wind, the project Women on Stage and the duo Kelpie with Ian Melrose, but also as a solo artist. With a voice described as “clear as Norwegian fjord water” and her virtuoso, groovy guitar-playing she recently released her highly acclaimed 2nd solo album Trollsang (Westpark Music) – original compositions and intricate arrangements of traditional Norwegian songs – which sets an even higher standard than her debut album, Valivann (Westpark), which won the German critics prize in 2002 and was released in North America by the renowned world music label Alula.

”Blodig impressed us with one of the most expressive voices I`ve ever heard.” Glåmdalen (N)

URS FUCHS (www.urs-fuchs.de)

since 1977 active as a studio- and live musician for various well-known artists including Jon Lord, Sally Oldfield, Frank Duval, EROC, Farfarello, Kathy Kelly and Peter Kraus. He has composed film music for television and video productions such as “Family in a boat” and “When Steel Cools” for German TV, “Quest Spirit” (Yukon Quest documentary) for Canada, Sweden and the US. Since 1992 he is member of the classical/ pop instrumental group Farfarello. He has produced and played on over 40 albums for prominent artists in the German jazz and folk genres, and continues to expand his repertoire of projects with harp, piano and vocal groups.

IAN MELROSE (www.MelroseAcousticGuitar.com)

from Scotland, belongs to the cream of Europe’s acoustic guitarists. He is an internationally acclaimed composer and arranger, lead guitarist with Clannad (World Tour, grammy award-winning CD Landmarks), and plays with Kerstin in Kelpie and Norland Wind. He produced and arranged the new CD Rubicon by Clannad`s Noel & Pádraig Duggan. A major aspect of his work is solo guitar: based on Celtic finger picking style, his compositions blend Irish dances, Scottish ballads and classical formats with Brazilian samba and Argentine tango to create real world-music on the guitar. He has played major festivals across the world ranging from e.g. the Montreal jazz festival (CAN) to the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow (Sco), where a new project, the Island Tapes (live Celtic music to silent films) premiered to sell-out crowds.

His solo CDs, Wolves, Between the Sighs, A Scottish Legacy and most recently A Shot in the Dark (Acoustic Music Records), have gained him rave reviews in the international music press.

“…top-class guitarist …brilliant fingerpicker…” The Times (GB)

“…one of the best Celtic-based fingerpickers on the scene today” Acoustic Guitar (USA)

WOLFRAM CRAMER VON CLAUSBRUCH

is a supremely talented multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger. After completing his degree in music in 1988 (guitar and piano) he soon became a well-known figure in the German live- and studio-scene. 20 years of professional experience have brought forth many projects in very varied styles: Nippy Noya, GNU (improvised music), Manfred Ulrich Trio (close encounters with German folk music of the third kind) and Haralds Klangplantage (electro-acoustic songs without words), tour commissions for e.g. the German National Railway Company and the cinema chain Cinemaxx, as well as complete studio productions for the advertising industry (LTU, Persil, Ramazotti, Diebels among many others).